The Sleepy Little Bubs

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Baby waking at 5.00am every day?

Early morning wakes are one of the most common sleep challenges I see, and they can be so frustrating because by 5.00am, it can feel like the whole day starts on the back foot.

But early rising usually isn’t random.

It can be linked to things like:

• light creeping into the room
• household or outside noise
• temperature dropping in the early hours
• too much or too little daytime sleep
• wake windows not quite matching your baby’s sleep needs
• overtiredness at bedtime
• genuine hunger
• accidentally treating 5.00am like morning

The key is working out what’s driving the wake, rather than trying to fix it with one blanket answer.

And one of the biggest things? How you respond at 5.00am matters.

Keep it boring. Keep it dark. Keep it consistent.

If it’s not your desired wake time yet, try not to open the blinds, start the day, play, read books, or bring in lots of stimulation. This can accidentally reinforce that 5.00am is morning.

Instead, respond as you would to another overnight wake and give your baby the opportunity to resettle.

Need help working out what’s causing your baby’s early wakes?

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“Sleep begets sleep.”

It’s one of the most repeated phrases in the baby sleep industry.

The reality? It’s far more nuanced than simply saying more sleep creates more sleep.

The idea behind the phrase is that a well rested baby may sleep better overall than an overtired baby.

When babies become overtired, cortisol and adrenaline can rise, making it harder to fall asleep, stay asleep and settle between sleep cycles. In those situations, helping your baby catch up on sleep can absolutely improve sleep overall.

But this is where parents get confused.

Many people hear “sleep begets sleep” and assume that the more sleep their baby gets during the day, the better they’ll sleep overnight.

That’s not always true.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, babies aged 4 to 11 months need 12 to 15 hours of total sleep over 24 hours, toddlers need 11 to 14 hours, and preschoolers need 10 to 13 hours. That’s total sleep, including naps and overnight sleep.

Once a child is already meeting their sleep needs, continually adding more day sleep doesn’t automatically improve nights.

Why?

Because sleep pressure matters too.

Sleep pressure is your body’s biological drive for sleep. The longer we’re awake, the more sleep pressure builds. When we sleep, some of that pressure is released.

So while helping an overtired baby catch up on sleep can be beneficial, consistently sleeping beyond what they need during the day may reduce sleep pressure and contribute to bedtime battles, frequent night waking, split nights and early morning rising.

This is why sleep isn’t about getting as much sleep as possible. It’s about finding the right balance between sleep needs and sleep pressure.

So does sleep beget sleep?

✅ Sometimes, when you’re reducing overtiredness.

❌ Not always, if your baby is already getting plenty of sleep.

Struggling with sleep?

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One of the biggest mistakes I see parents make is assuming every sleep change is a regression.

Sometimes your baby isn’t overtired.

They may simply need more awake time.

As babies grow, their sleep needs change rapidly. In fact, awake windows are often changing every month until around 9 months of age, which means the routine that worked perfectly a few weeks ago may suddenly stop working.

You might notice:

✨ Naps that used to be long becoming cat naps
✨ Nap refusal out of nowhere
✨ More overnight waking
✨ Taking longer to fall asleep
✨ Fighting naps and bedtime
✨ Early morning waking

This is also why many families notice sleep falling apart around nap transition periods.

The most common times are:

📍 Around 4 to 6 months when moving from 4 naps to 3 naps
📍 Around 6 to 8 months when moving from 3 naps to 2 naps
📍 Around 15 to 18 months when moving from 2 naps to 1 nap
📍 From 2.5 years when moving from 1 nap to 0

When a baby isn’t tired enough, they simply don’t have enough sleep pressure to fall asleep easily or stay asleep.

Of course, not every sleep issue is caused by awake windows. Illness, teething, development, separation anxiety and sleep associations can all play a role too.

But if sleep has suddenly fallen apart and nothing else has changed, it’s definitely worth looking at whether your baby is ready for a little more awake time.

Want to learn exactly how awake windows, nap transitions, regressions, frequent waking and settling techniques all fit together?

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